Sublime in Frankenstein and Life of Pie Essay Example

The novels Frankenstein by Mary Shelley written in 1818 and Life of Pi by Yann Martel written in 2001 will be discussed in this essay. Frankenstein is a Gothic novel about a scientist who builds a monstrous creature, who cannot adapt to society throughout the storyline, ending in both the scientist and his creature being miserable. Life of Pi is a philosophical fiction about a boy who ends up on a lifeboat on the sea accompanied by wild, deadly animals, with the main character’s goal being survival. In this essay, the aspects of beauty and terror will be discussed in the definition of the sublime. 

The sublime is a theme that shows up in both novels. In Frankenstein Victor builds a creature out of dead body parts, which shows the power of man over nature. The creature is horrifying, yet at the same time the reader is amazed at him being an intelligent living being. In Life of Pi sublime is reflected in the charming yet intimidating ocean and as well the deadly, but magnificent tiger who accompanies Pi on the lifeboat.  

Beauty is a perception that is influenced by cultural and social aspects. In Frankenstein and Life of Pi this theme lacks. In Frankenstein, unlike beauty, the theme of monstrosity is prominent. The creature is a representation of monstrosity, he is unappealing and giant.  

An aspect of the sublime that is prominent in both novels is terror. Frankenstein starts with raising death, which evokes a frightful feeling for the characters involved in the novel. The appearance of the creature is a concept of horror. For example, when the creature wanted to socialize with the people of the farm, the woman he talked to fainted at his sight. In Life of Pi terror is presented as fear to survive. For example, when the orangutan was killed by the hyena, Pi thought he will be killed next and said: ‘’I could hardly see through the tears in my eyes‘’. 

To conclude, the sublime and the terror of the sublime recur in Frankenstein and Life of Pie. Although there is a difference of two centuries time between these novels, both novels show similarities in the sublime.